AHSAA | Alabama High School Athletic Association

LARRY ANDREWS        Larry Andrews is a graduate of Clarke County High School and the University of Mobile.        Andrews coached baseball for 34 seasons at Baker High School in Mobile where his career record was 511-265 with state titles in 1974 (Class 2A), 1976 (Class 3A) and 1990 (Class 6A). Before he retired in 2002, his teams won 15 area titles, reached the state playoffs 20 times and sent 115 players into the college or professional ranks.         A member of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, he was chosen eight times to coach the East-West All-Star Classic.        The consummate professional as a teacher and coach, he always displayed an unquestionable work ethic and high personal standards. Now deceased, he was a credit to the coaching profession and a role model for students.   TOM DANNER         Tom Danner is a graduate of Tuscaloosa High School and the University of Alabama.        The Jackson, Miss., native became a teacher/coach in the Tuscaloosa City School System in 1956 where he served as head track coach for the next 15 years. His teams won the state championship in 1957 and finished second five times. He also was an assistant on a 1964 state championship football team. He later served as a volunteer track coach at Tuscaloosa Junior High School and Central High School from 1979-1982.         A state prep record holder in two field events, he helped the University Alabama win the 1952 SEC track title and also played on its 1953 Cotton Bowl football team.  Now deceased, he is a member of the Tuscaloosa Sports Hall of Fame.       Epitomizing the best qualities of coaching, he had a way inspiring his players.     JOE FRANK FOWLER        Joe Frank Fowler is a graduate of Rogers High School.                        Fowler, who turned 72 last summer, has served as an AHSAA basketball official for 51 years.  A native of Florence, he began officiating basketball in 1957 and is still active in training young officials.         He officiated football for 34 years and umpired baseball for 29 years. Fowler also officiated college and junior college basketball for more than 20 years.  A member of the Lauderdale County Board of Education for 28 years, he has served in several leadership roles in local associations and statewide.         He has set the standard for officiating in northwestern Alabama with his hustle, dedication to proper mechanics, fairness and professionalism. CLARENCE MARBLE       Clarence Marble is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School (Tenn.) and Rust College.      The Memphis area native won over 500 games in his storied basketball coaching career at Talladega County Central High School. His teams went to the state tournament three straight years in the 1980s and won the 1984 state 1A title with a 30-3 record.  He also coached three other sports and served as athletic director.      He coached at Immaculatta (Birmingham), Wheatley and Ophelia S. Hill high schools before settling in Talladega where the school gym is named in his honor.      An outstanding prep and college athlete, he was named all-conference in three college sports. An arm injury ended his brief pro baseball career.      Now deceased, he was able to discipline and guide his students by being firm, friendly and fair.     SIMPSON PEPPER      Simpson Pepper is a graduate of Ensley High School and the Livingston StateUniversity (now West Alabama).       He spent six decades (1950-2008) in education, beginning as a three-sport teacher/coach at B.B. Comer High School and later at Hueytown and Ensley. Prior to his death last summer, he spent 32 years as an administrator at JonesValley schools and Central Park Christian School.       Known as the “Voice of Legion Field,” he spent 44 years as the public address announcer at Legion Field and had similar duties at the University of Alabama much of that time. His professionalism is now the standard for many PA announcers throughout the Southeast      A member of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club.   LARRY SIMMONS      Larry Simmons is a graduate of Hayden High School and the Jacksonville State University.      He spent 11 of his 13 years in coaching at Thompson High School where his football teams compiled a 100-29-1 record with a state championship in 1982 and six playoff appearances. Named Class 3A State Coach of the Year in 1982, he coached in the North-South All-Star game twice, once as head coach. He also coached at Hayden.      He served in administration for nine years—seven as Thompson principal, on the AHSAA district board and as president of the Shelby County Coaches Association. The Thompson football stadium is named in his honor. He went into sporting goods sales after retiring in 1992.       Always a model of excellence, respectability and class, he has had a lasting impact on the Alabaster community. BARBARA SNIDER       Barbara Snider is a graduate of Colonial High School (NY) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.       She coached volleyball for 17 of her 25 years at Erwin High School where her teams compiled a 409-233 record, won seven region titles and one county title.      She started the Erwin tennis program and coached the boys and girls teams to a 166-63 record over a 23-year span. Her girls’ teams won the 1991 state crown and 11 county titles. Her 1980 gymnastics squad won the state junior high compulsory title and she was named State Coach of the Year in 1994-95.       Moving into administration in 1998, she currently is principal at Mortimer Jordan High School.  She was selected Jefferson County Teacher of the Year in 1995-96 and the ASAHPERD State Teacher of the Year in 1996-97.       A real friend of youth, she is the epitome of professionalism and integrity .   GEORGE 'SHORTY' WHITE      ‘Shorty’ White is a graduate of Phillips High School and Jacksonville State University.       In his 14 years as football coach at Banks High School in Birmingham, his teams compiled a 100-37-5 record, won state titles in 1965, 1972 and 1973, and posted 35-game winning streak over three seasons. His 1974 team defeated Woodlawn 19-6 at Legion Field before a state-record crowd of 42,000-plus.       Named national Coach of the Year in 1973, he played and coached in the North-South All-Star Game. Many of his players went into the college and professional ranks as players and coaches.       He coached at the University of Alabama for seven years, and then returned to the prep ranks at American Christian Academy and Pleasant Grove before retiring.       A demanding but fair coach, he exemplified high standards of character and achievement.   BAILEY YELDING      Bailey Yelding is a graduate of Baldwin County Training School and Alabama State University.      He left a legacy of winning basketball at Fairhope where his 16 boys teams racked up a 302-130 record, went to the state tournament semifinals once, the quarterfinals three times and won the Baldwin County championship 10 times. He had coached the junior varsity to a 72-28 record the previous five seasons.       Before going to Fairhope, he coached six Baldwin County football teams to a 49-16-1 record.  A coach in the 1980 North-South all-star game, he is a member of the Fairhope High School and Baldwin County Varsity Coaches halls of fame. Instrumental in helping guide Fairhope through the early years of integration, he is currently a member of the Daphne City Council.               He was a true mentor to young coaches. The character and morals he taught are still evident in the community.